IA03.9
Susan let out a wild piercing shriek. A fierce wind began to blow through the alleyway. Daleks scattered like bowling pins. The Master lost his wig. And a swirling vortex of energy enveloped the Doctor. The Doctor screamed and fell to the ground, his perceptions filled by the vortex. He could make out that the Master was near him trying to help, but he looked different, somehow _wrong_. His attentions turned quickly, though, as something began to try to invade his form. The Doctor turned all of his mental powers to fight it. "Shouldn't we help him?" Grace asked, turning to look at the Doctor. "Don't bother," Mistress Mel said. "He did that all the time when I knew him." She looked around. "The wind is irritating, though, isn't it?" Fate was already rethinking her decision about Paris when she looked in the time-space continuum. Headed right for nineteenth century Paris was a blue police box. Fate grinned. This was always fun. Ten Daleks reappeared on the streets of Paris, the leading one wearing a beret. Grace was examining the maypole when she heard the voice. It was a familiar voice, one that struck fear into her heart. She looked away slowly to see the worst sight she could imagine. The Master, just as she remembered him from the first time she'd met the Doctor, was walking towards her. "Hello Grace!" he shouted. The Doctor only turned and grinned, stroking his mustache. The Daleks milled around in confusion for a minute, their twin eyestalks looking around wildly. "What happened?" asked one. "We seem to have had an extra-existential existence," the leader replied. "We must compose poetry for it at once!" Its attention was quickly turned from poetry, though. In the corner of the alleyway there was a grinding sound, and a blue police box began to appear. "We must take him by surprise!" the leader declared. "Quick! Play dead!" All of the Daleks drooped their eyestalks, claws, and weapons. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was searching his pockets for his recorder. Jamie and Zoe looked at the little man expectantly. "You know, I could swear I left it right on the console a minute ago," the Doctor was muttering. "And it isn't there, and it isn't in my pocket. Where could it be?" "Doctor, are you going to show us what is out there?" Zoe asked. The Doctor could get absent minded at times, and she really did want to see Mars. "Oh yes! In a minute!" The Doctor fished a bag out of his pocket. "Just let me find my recorder first. Would you like a jelly baby?" "Willya put on the screen?" came Jamie's irate voice. Really, the Scotsman had been a bit short tempered lately. "Patience, Jamie, patience," the Doctor said, putting the bag away in his pocket. He flicked a couple of switches, and the screen came alive. "There you go: Mars. The red planet. Now where is my recorder?" "Doctor! Look!" Zoe shouted, pointing at the screen. The Doctor looked up at the screen. "Now, you really must not shout. I am right here..." the Time Lord's eyes went wide open. "Daleks? Here? And we're not on Mars?" The energy vortex suddenly disappeared, leaving the Doctor with a strong impression of a man with a strange mask. The man had a name too, but it was something fleeting. "Are you okay?" the Master asked, helping the Doctor up. The Doctor shook his head. "It was O...somebody with a name beginning with 'O'," the Doctor said weakly. "It was almost as if he was trying to take over my mind. He looked at the Master. Something didn't seem right about his face. Must just be the aftermath of the vortex. "Are you all right, daddy?" Susan asked. "You look bad." "Right, Doctor," Mistress Mel declared, hands on her hips. "That trick won't work again. Into the ship! You are coming back with us to Skaro." "What about the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked. "When you get there you will never need it again," Mel assured him. "That doesn't sound very promising," the Master stated. "You are coming too," Mel declared. "You will pay for the bad review you gave our poetry." The Master looked dismayed as two Daleks flanked him. The Doctor was about to make a break for it when he looked to his sides. Two Daleks flanked him too. "Oh no," the Doctor said. "This sort of thing happens far too often for comfort." "Don't run!" the Master shouted, holding out his hands. His palms were empty. "I know that I am in an alternate universe. I also know that this is my brother, and that you are not the Grace I remember." Grace still put the maypole between her and the Master. The Doctor shook his head. "The toxins are finally out!" he declared. "What are you doing here, brother?" "I gather you know we are in an alternate universe," the Master said. "Yes!" the Doctor replied. "And my alternate form seems to be a little-goodie-two-shoes. How he has any fun at all is beyond me." He leered at Grace and licked his lips. Grace looked away, disgusted. "Well, he is in serious trouble if he runs into my alternate form!" the Master declared. "I was locked out from his TARDIS console. All I could do was look at his logs. He is evil, nothing but evil! All his life he has been trying to kill your other form!" "We have to get back to our universe!" the Doctor stated. "My Grace is there, and we also have to stop this alternate Master." "Are you thinking..." "We take my TARDIS through a CVE and back into our universe," the Doctor said. "I doubt that Ulysses is in this universe anyway." The Doctor crept out of the TARDIS doors, pensively twiddling his fingers. The Daleks didn't move. "Hello there! I am the Doctor!" the Time Lord shouted. Still the Daleks did nothing. "I surrender!" the Doctor cried out. Still no response. "Jamie, Zoe," the Doctor called into the TARDIS. "I think it's safe." The Doctor began to stride up to the Daleks. "Now what are deactivated Daleks doing in Paris in the early nineteenth century?" "They look different," Jamie pointed out, jogging up with Zoe. "Yes," the Doctor commented, examining one. "Instead of a plunger there is a claw, and two eyestalks instead of one." "Could they be from the future?" Zoe asked. "Well, they could, but we saw the far future of the Daleks," the Doctor replied. "It must be something else." "Hey! This one's wearing a broken tam!" Jamie exclaimed, pointing at the leader. "A beret, Jamie, a beret," the Doctor stated, stepping up to the Dalek leader. "This one must have been the leader." At that moment, with all of the time travelers within the outer circle, the Daleks came to life. "Oh no!" the Doctor shouted, turning to find himself faced by another Dalek. "You are the Doctor, the great enemy of the Dalek Race!" the leader exclaimed. "First we will recite the great going-away poem and then we will exterminate you!" "What?" the Doctor asked, mystified. To the Doctor and his companion's horror, the Daleks began to sing: CHUGGA WOA...CHUGGA WUGGA WOA... WE SING TO THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE, THE GREAT DALEK DESTINY! WE CRY FOR THOSE WHO WILL NOT CONGRATULATE, US AS WE EXTERMINATE! CHUGGA WOA...CHUGGA WUGGA WOA...VIM VOM SKARO! "Right!" shouted the Doctor. "Now I am very certain I am not the person you are looking for!" This stopped the Daleks before the next stanza. Every eyestalk turned to look at him. "Look, all of the Daleks I have ever encountered have had one eyestalk, a plunger, and no talent for art whatsoever!" the Doctor declared. "They dinna have talent anyway," Jamie whispered. "They were worse than you." The Doctor threw an irritated glance at Jamie. "Not now, Jamie." He addressed the Daleks again. "It could be that you have come through a CVE somehow from another universe. Now why don't you come into the TARDIS and I'll try to take you home." "We will consider it," the leader said. "Give us a minute." "Doctor," Zoe began. "You can't even steer the TARDIS in this universe. How are you going to steer the TARDIS into another one?" "Zoe," the Doctor replied. "The computer's directional control on the TARDIS is damaged. That is why I cannot steer the computer. I can steer it manually, and I need to do that to get through the CVE anyway." "We have decided," declared the Dalek leader. "We will go with you back to Mistress Mel." The man looked at the display. Well, he thought, stroking his mask. His last attempt to stop the Doctor hadn't worked well, but now the Doctor was stranded on Skaro. Events had conspired with him. This would work very well. Omega leaned back, putting his hands together. Soon he would have his freedom. After an uneventful ride, the Doctor and the Master were ushered into the throne room on Skaro. Mistress Mel languished on her throne, Grace by her side. "This is a familiar situation, Doctor and Master," she said. "I wish I could enjoy it more, but I don't have time for that. You, Master, are under penalty of death, which will executed immediately. As for you, Doctor, I have been told that you are from an alternate universe. From Grace's description of your behavior I can believe it." "You mean he is not my daddy?" Susan asked, standing in the corner of the doorway. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Go to your room!" Mistress Mel ordered. "I'll discuss it with you later!" Crying, Susan ran off down the corridor. "I will use you and Grace as bait for the Doctor from this universe," Mel continued. "And when he comes he will either pay my child support or die." At that moment there was a grinding noise, and a blue police box appeared in a corner of the room, shocking a couple of the Daleks. The doors to the box opened, and ten Daleks rolled out, one wearing a beret. They were followed by a little man, a man in a kilt, and a woman in a trenchcoat. "Ah yes!" the second Doctor said, seeing Mel on the throne. "You must be Mistress Mel. I believe that these say they are yours." "Who are you, little man?" Mel asked. The Master looked on in amusement. "Well, I am the Doctor," the man said. "And these are my companions: Jamie and Zoe. I had to return them to this universe; you see, they were making rather a mess in Paris." "You are also the Doctor?" Mel asked. "Also?" the second Doctor replied. "You mean that there is another of me here? Oh yes, you do look like one of me!" The two Doctors began to shake hands. "It is very nice to meet our latest model." "What are you doing here?" the Doctor hissed. The second Doctor ignored him. "And Skaro's been redecorated too!" the little Time Lord exclaimed. "I don't like it. You don't have a recorder on you by chance, do you? I seem to have lost mine. Oh yes, Doctor, I should give you this." The second Doctor began to fish around in his pockets. As he was doing this he hissed: "Is your companion the one next to Mistress Mel?" The Doctor nodded. Behind him Jamie and Zoe were standing just inside the TARDIS doors. In front of him his earlier self continued to hold the attention of the Dalek court. The Doctor made a quick motion to the Master: get ready. "So your name is Grace? I'm pleased to meet you, you remind me a bit of my granddaughter. You have her eyes. Oh! There is a part of a tapestry over by the TARDIS that you should see. I'm rather excited by it, you know." The second Doctor led Grace towards the TARDIS. "Oh!" he declared. "And that bit of roof right there is quite nice! I do like that! Look, everybody!" The court looked at the roof for a minute. "You know, he is right about it looking nice," Mel commented. "A bit 'New Age' really." Then she heard the grinding noise. As the TARDIS disappeared, Mel could see that both Doctors, Grace, the Master, Jamie and Zoe were gone. "Oh damn," Mel cursed. "Well, that was very close," the second Doctor said, looking around the console again. "Have you seen my recorder?" "Where are we headed?" the Doctor asked. "I set the controls for Earth, late twentieth century," the younger Doctor replied. "Now what has happened?" As the Doctor and Grace explained, the time rotor came to a halt. "We're here, Doctor," Zoe announced. "According to this we are on Earth, in central North America." "Well, I was aiming for Europe, but this is close enough," the second Doctor said. "Now, time to take a look around." The storm was right overhead when they stepped out of the TARDIS. The second Doctor pointed at the sky, stating: "This could be tornado weather. We are in the right place for it." "What is a tornado?" asked Jamie. "A sort of big windstorm," explained Grace. "Doesn't sound too bad," Jamie said. Grace only shook her head. "There are some people down there," Zoe pointed out. To the south was a group of vehicles gathered together, with various scientific instruments on top of them. "They are only a few minutes away," declared the second Doctor. "Let's have a look, shall we?" It took the group only ten minutes to get to the group, but when they got there the Doctor turned very pale. The man who came to greet them he was one of the few men he was afraid of: the Valeyard. "Hello," said the man. "You must be our new researchers. I am Dr. Ulysses." "Hello," said the Doctor weakly. At the mention of the name 'Ulysses', Grace's ears perked up. "He's rather excited about this job," the second Doctor explained. "He gets this way when he is excited." The wind suddenly grew much stronger, sounding like a freight train. "What is it?" shouted Jamie. "It's a tornado!" the Doctor replied. "Right there!" As the group looked on, the twister approached the TARDIS. "Is that your equipment?" asked Ulysses. "Yes, it is!" replied Zoe. "Don't worry!" shouted the Doctor. "The tornado can't hurt it!" Suddenly, the TARDIS was torn from the ground and up into the funnel. "Oh yes!" the second Doctor exclaimed. "I forgot! _That_ can happen!" The TARDIS spiraled upward. longer be seen, and then the funnel disappeared. As the debris fell, there was no sign of the police box. Omega flicked off the switch and sat back. "That did the trick very well," he commented. TO BE CONTINUED... Just try to sort this mess out now... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.... }}